Article on 17th century stays

Last year I wrote two articles on 17th century beauty for Your Wardrobe Unlock'd and now I have written a new one for Foundations Revealed. The subject is 17th century stays, a woefully neglected subject. The article focus on extant stays and boned bodices and if any conclusions on construction can be drawn from this rather scant pool of garments.

If you subscribe to Foundations Revealed, you can read the article here.

I hope you will enjoy it! I didn't know how little that was written about this subject until I tried to read up on it, so I really hope I managed to make it interesting!

Now I just need to transform what I have learned into a pair of stays of my own!

A Young Woman at Her Toilet with a Maid by Gerard ter Boch, 1650-51, Metropolitan Museum

17th century stays, mostly

I haven’t updated in two months, which must be some kind of famous first. I have had the flu, which effectively benched me for three weeks and has left me sluggish and very non-productive for the three weeks that came after.

I have written an article for Foundations Revealed about 17^th century stays. Great fun but let me tell you, it is a black hole. I think I can safely say that nothing specific have been written about stays and that period, so I have found my information in small bits and pieces all over. It’s also extremely annoying when you read scholarly works that states that stays WERE NOT WORN before 1680 which is just plain wrong. I also found that I had to cut it and just focus on extant stays and bodices and not at all on paintings and pictures which I had originally planned. I’m not sure when it will be published, but it will be in April.

I am sewing, but very sporadically. I have come so far in the cursed banyan for J that I only need to hem it. It will be so nice to see the end of that project. I am also making a toile for a pair of 17^th century stays. I’m basing it on the pink stays in V&A and using my 18^th century stay pattern s as template, which means a lot of redrafting. My friend Lithia helped me, I simply donned my stays, put on a fitted toile and Lithia drew that pattern pieces on it and fixed the shoulder strap.

It looks rather messy…

I have now made a new pattern and am currently sewing boning channels in it. I have to make a boned toile or I am sure it will be something wrong with it. It’s a bit of a challenge as the pink stays were clearly made for a slender lady with an average bust, and I am more rotund and has definitely not an average bust size. We’ll see how it looked when I try it on. I have my fabric ready, anyway, a pale green-gold satin with dark green ribbons.

Plastique Fantastique pique nique

Jean Hagen in Singin' In the Rain (1952)

If you ever feel the need to don a shiny white 18^th century wig and dig some poly satin and panne velvet, then you should come to Stockholm on August 22. We are planning to have plastic fantastic party, 18^th century style, where bad taste is the best. Princess seams, back lacing, modern corsetry and, most important of all, bad wigs, are for once a must. I for one want a pink wig.

 

Lucille Ball in Du Barry Was A Lady (1943)
A festival och ginormous wigs and maids in mini-skirt.
 

As for clothes I haven’t decided yet. Some years ago I made a pair of 18^th century stays in black PVC that I have never worn, that would probably fit the bill. (I had a new stay pattern to try out and I wanted to test sewing in PVC). But what to wear with it? I have PVC left for a petticoat, but perhaps I should try to match J who wants a suit in purple panne velvet? Decisions, decisions…

Source

 

Source

  

Ebay do spit out one lovely after another, doesn’t it?

 

TOWER COLONIAL LADY V1O93 WIG WIGS 18TH CENTURY COSTUME

Empress French Marie Antoinette 18th Century Royalty Enigma Costume Wig

Thy Wicked Court Costume Wig Adult Colonial Gothic Marie Antoinette Ghost 18th C

17th century makeup

Just a head up; the article I wrote for Your Wardrobe Unlock'd about 17th century makeup can now be read at Madame Isis' Toilette.

Part one cover the history of 17th century makeup.

Part two show two different 17th century makeup looks, both made with period correct cosmetics.

Read my article on 17th century hair

Earlier this year I wrote an article for Your Wardrobe Unlock’d about the “spaniel ear hairstyle” that was hugely popular in the 17^th century. I have now posted in on Madame Isis’t Toilette, so this is a shout-out for you who doesn’t follow that blog but are interested in the 17^th century.

Part 1covers the history of the hairstyle and some 17th century hair care advice.

Part 2: step-by-step instruction for how to create the hairstyle.

I sent a mail to the woman I bought the wool yarn for my stomacher from to show her the result and she posted a very nice post about it at her blog Broderibloggen.

Embroidery and jacket update

After two weeks of sewing I need to attach the sleeves, basque and cuffs. I have the day off tomorrow when I plan to sew that, apart from the cuffs which will have to wait. I have also done quite a lot of the embroidery- so much fun! I think I may be finished in two weeks after all.

An extant robe de cour bodice in Sweden

The museum Nordiska in Stockholm has a large collection of costume related items and though a lot can be found at Digitalt museum, not everything has any photos. However, only recently pictures of a robe de cour bodice has come up and I am sure that will interest many of you. The four robe de cour’s preserved at Livrustkammaren were made for weddings and coronations and are quite sumptuous. This bodice is much plainer, though it is cut in the same style, a fully boned bodice, laced in the back with short sleeves. It is dated to 1770-79 and is made of white silk drouget (a Swedish article on this kind of silk can be found here.), probably produced in Sweden. The silk is cut and sewn together from nine pattern pieces.

NM.0020602

 

The lining is made from coarse unbleached linen, boned with whalebone, though it is reinforced with vertical iron boning along the top front and there is also an iron busk. There is probably a layer of glued paper between lining and the silk fabric.

 

 

The short sleeves are made of ten small pieces and are pleated.

 

At the waist there is a thin cord meant to attach the trail.